The final match of T20 World Cup 2026 will be played between India and New Zealand at the Narendra Modi Stadium in Ahmedabad. This match will start at 7 pm and the toss will take place half an hour before that i.e. at 6:30 pm. Both teams are meeting in the final of the second consecutive ICC tournament in two years. Earlier, India had defeated New Zealand in the 2025 Champions Trophy final. However, Team India’s record against New Zealand in the knockouts of ICC tournaments has not been good. The Kiwis have won one more match than us. This time India has a chance to settle the score by winning the final. Team India and New Zealand have so far come face to face five times in the knockout matches of ICC tournaments. Of these, Kiwis have won three matches and India have won two matches. However, both the teams will face each other for the first time in the knockouts of the T20 World Cup. Before this, both have faced each other only in the knockout of ODI or Test Championship. Let us first know the statistics and then the story of each match…
1. India vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy Final, 2000
India and New Zealand came face to face for the first time in the knockout of an ICC tournament in the 2000 Champions Trophy final. Then the New Zealand team led by Stephen Fleming defeated the Indian team led by Sourav Ganguly by four wickets. Batting first, India scored 264 runs for six wickets in 50 overs. Ganguly played an inning of 117 runs and Sachin played an inning of 69 runs. In reply, New Zealand achieved the target by losing six wickets in 49.4 overs. Chris Cairns was the player of the match in that match. Apart from taking two wickets, he played an unbeaten inning of 102 runs. Apart from this, Chris Harris scored 46 and Nathan Astle scored 37 runs.
2. India vs New Zealand, ODI World Cup Semi-Final, 2019
After the 2000 Champions Trophy final, both the teams came face to face in the ICC Knockout after 19 years i.e. in the semi-finals of the ODI World Cup in 2019. No Indian can forget this match, because Team India lost after coming close to victory. In this semi-final which lasted for two days, New Zealand, batting first, scored 239 runs for eight wickets in 50 overs. Captain Kane Williamson played an inning of 67 runs, Ross Taylor played an inning of 74 runs. Bhuvneshwar Kumar took three wickets for India. In reply, Team India’s innings was reduced to 221 runs in 49.3 overs and India lost by 18 runs. Dhoni scored 50 runs and Ravindra Jadeja scored 77 runs. Whereas, Rishabh Pant and Hardik had scored 32-32 runs. Captain Kohli, Rohit and KL could score one run each. Matt Henry took three wickets for New Zealand.
3. India vs New Zealand, World Test Championship Final, 2021
After 2019, India and New Zealand came face to face in the final of the World Test Championship in 2021. This was the first final of the Test Championship. The Indian team was looking strong under the leadership of Kohli. At the same time, Kane Williamson was handling the command of New Zealand. Rain also caused disruption and the result came on the reserve day. However, India’s batting was poor in this match. India scored 217 runs in the first innings. Kohli was the top scorer with 44 runs and Rahane with 49 runs. Jameson took five wickets. In reply, New Zealand scored 249 runs in their first innings and took a lead of 32 runs over India. Devon Conway scored 54 runs and captain Williamson scored 49 runs. Tom Latham and Tim Southee scored 30-30 runs. Shami got four wickets for India. India’s second innings was reduced to 170 runs and if we subtract New Zealand’s lead of 32 runs, the total lead of Team India was 138 runs and New Zealand had a target of 139 runs. Pant was the top scorer in the second innings by scoring 41 runs. Team Saudi took four wickets for the Kiwis. After this, New Zealand achieved the target after losing two wickets. Williamson remained unbeaten on 52 runs and Ross Taylor remained unbeaten on 47 runs.
4. India vs New Zealand, ODI World Cup Semi-Final, 2023
After 2021, the teams of India and New Zealand came face to face in the semi-finals of the 2023 ODI World Cup. Team India, led by Rohit, defeated the New Zealand team led by Williamson by 70 runs. In this match played at Wankhede, India, batting first, scored 397 runs for four wickets in 50 overs. Rohit scored 40 runs, Shubman scored 80 runs, Kohli scored 117 runs and Shreyas scored 105 runs. Saudi took three wickets for New Zealand. In reply, New Zealand was all out for 327 runs in 48.5 overs. Daryl Mitchell scored 134 runs and Glenn Phillips scored 41 runs. Williamson scored 69 runs. Shami took seven wickets for India.
5. India vs New Zealand, Champions Trophy Final, 2025
India won the title by defeating New Zealand by four wickets in the final of Champions Trophy 2025. After winning the toss and batting first, New Zealand scored 251 runs in 50 overs losing seven wickets. Daryl Mitchell scored 63 runs and Michael Bracewell scored 53 runs. In reply, India achieved the target by losing six wickets in 49 overs. Rohit played the captaincy innings. He got India out of trouble by scoring 76 runs. Whereas, Shreyas had scored 48 runs. In the end, KL and Jadeja won by remaining unbeaten.